The Magic Item Guide was one of my favorite guides that was on Wizards of the Coast Community boards. It will soon be deleted along with the rest of them this Thursday (now November 5th)! So I ported it over into HTML, and reformatted and did a lot of editing for use here.
I hope to add some Navigation aids that will help moving around the document as I research items. (I’ve added them) But for now, this is a great list to use as a DM when deciding on what magic items you are going to be placing into your campaign. The Comprehensive Compendium of Considerable and Compelling Curios: A Magic Item GuideCurse the wizard that created the first robe of the archmage! Now any whelp of a hedge conjurer or witless apprentice that finds one considers himself an archmage. Then these fools seek magic far above their station or grasp at power as if donning a robe made them royalty. What a blasted nuisance. I hesitate to count the number of “archmages” I’ve reduced to dust.
In this case a shield bash is the same as a booted kick or a gauntleted punch or a helmed headbutt - it is an unarmed attack. If a GM does rule that a worn shield is an improvised weapon, doing 1d4, then they also have to rule that so is a suit of armour, clothing, gloves, boots, and so on.
Attunement ItemsHelm of Brilliance – Fantastic item. You get more fireballs, a slew of other spells, and it makes your weapon more powerful. Sadly, the helm is consumable. But playing with the same item your entire career would be boring right?
Very RareScarab of Protection– Autosaves are nice, and advantage on spell saves is a pretty good backup. Only having autosaves against undead and necromancy is a bit limiting, but it could be amazing in the right campaign. LegendaryNecklace of Prayer Beads – Overall, unimpressive. You can get: planar ally, branding smite, bless, cure wounds, lesser restoration, greater restoration, and windwalk. This would be a lot better if it didn’t require attunement.
But all considered, the spells just aren’t powerful enough to warrant an attunement slot. This becomes worse if your DM is a jerk, since he controls how many, and what type of beads you get.
Rare Non Attunement ItemsRing of Three Wishes – The only issue is if your DM will let you wish for more wishes. LegendaryAmmunition, +1, +2, or +3 – These are awesome if you can get your hands on them.
No reason not to have them. However, they’re not gold because as magic items, they’re not easily accessible. Sadly, once you use them they are not magical anymore.
Uncommon, Rare, or Very RareArrow of Slaying – For those monsters that absolutely, positively, need to die, look no further. Sadly, since its very rare, you will probably never see one. But if you do, and you find yourself fighting the BBG, whip this out of your quiver to ruin his day. Very RareEfreeti Bottle – It takes an action to open the bottle, but you have a 90 percent chance of having a strong effect. I think the possibility of getting three free wishes, at a level when you normally wouldn’t have access to it, makes this item powerful. Very RareNecklace of Fireballs – Free castings of fireball. No attunement.
I’m not seeing a drawback. RareOil of Etherealness – Walking right into a vault or the lair of a powerful enemy undetected is stylish and powerful considering you can pre-buff yourself. RareOil of Sharpness – As far as temporary buffs go this is one of the best. Hopefully you find a warehouse full of these. Very RarePotion of Speed – Haste is great, and concentration free haste is even better. This is what energy drinks want to be.
Very RareBead of Force – Great item, to bad it’s rare. If you need to take some enemies out of the fight, just throw one of these bad boys. RareDust of Disappearance – Sadly, you lose invisibility as soon as you attack or cast a spell, and its consumable. Its not great in combat, but for skill checks this could be useful.
UncommonElemental Gem – I’m getting sick of rating ways to use the conjure elemental spell. This one is pretty much identical, aside from it’s consumable nature. UncommonPhilter of Love – Charming is a nice effect, and who wouldn’t want to live like some amorous french skunk. UncommonPotion of Clairvoyance – Never walk into an ambush again, once. Hopefully you find a jug of this. RarePotion of Flying – Fly is a great spell to have in your back pocket when you need it, just remember to take the potion out of your back pocket before sitting down. Very RarePotion of Healing (Healing, Greater Healing, Superior Healing, Supreme Healing ) – Healing in a vial is always nice to have around when your healing kits run dry and your spell slots dry up.
Common, Uncommon, Rare, Very RarePotion of Heroism – Concentration free bless and 10 temporary hit points is a helpful combination. If the hit points weren’t extremely temporary it would be a bit better. RarePotion of Invisibility – For when you need to sneak or make a subtle retreat this is pretty sweet. Very RareScroll of Protection – Protecting yourself from an entire type of enemy is nice, but a DC 15 charisma check may be easy to overcome depending on the monster. If you have hex on a creature, or another way to increase the chances of maintaining your protection this gets better. RareDeck of Many Things – Nope. Not gonna comment on the Deck of Many Things.
There’s just too many things. LegendaryNolzur’s Marvelous Pigments – Not a lot of combat utility here. I guess if you had 10 minutes to set up a trap, you could paint a pit or something. Very RarePotion of Vitality – The usefulness of this will be very dependent on your campaign, but it can be invaluable if you’re in a pinch for time and trying to push your character to the limit. Very RareChime of Opening – This item is for parties who can’t cast knock.
It does pretty much the same thing, except it can only be used 10 times. RareElixir of Health – Not bad, similar to the effects of the lesser restoration spell. RareGem of Brightness – You can leave those torches at home for a while. Blinded is a good condition to impose and a DC 15 is nothing to scoff at. But then again, its probably just better to kill the creature instead. UncommonKeoghtom’s Ointment – This is a better potion of healing, but it does count against your magic item total until you use it up.
UncommonManual of Golems – And my mom always said I couldn’t make friends locked away in my room. This would be a lot better if you could use it to make more than one golem, but as it stands, the book is destroyed as soon as you make one. Also, the DM chooses which golem type you get to make. Very RareOil of Slipperiness – If your character is a greco-roman wrestler you’ve found your ideal oil. Grease yourself up and get ready to go to town, for more oil. UncommonPotion of Animal Friendship – If you’re in a forest, jungle, or a zoo, this can be great.
Raising a squirrel army never seemed so attainable. UncommonPotion of Diminution – Make sure you replace the label on this to say enlarge, or just hide your pocket sized gnome wizard in your backpack. RarePotion of Fire Breath – This may be what happens when you eat ghost peppers. It’s not a lot of damage, but it is a bonus action for a few good tries. UncommonPotion of Gaseous Form – If you want to sneak in through the vents this can be good, just make sure there isn’t a strong breeze blowing. Very RarePotion of Giant Strength (Hill Giant, Frost/stone Giant, Fire Giant, Cloud Giant, Storm Giant ) – These remind me of gummi berry juice from the Gummi Bears cartoon. If that show taught me anything it’s that superhuman strength is great, but you don’t want to be holding a boulder over your head when the effects wear off.
Uncommon, Rare, Rare, Very Rare, legendaryPotion of Growth – This gets better if you mainly try to grapple your enemies, or if you are small and would like to make a mount of your owl. UncommonPotion of Invulnerability – Resistance to all damage is hard to come. It’s too bad this only gives you a minute of protection. RarePotion of Longevity – This is what people in power have been chasing for since the dawn of time. Find a way to barter with this, or just use it to really sell your false identity.
Very RarePotion of Mind Reading – DC 13 is not very high, but detect thoughts can be very useful in the right situations. RarePotion of Poison – If you can get your enemies to drink it, this is quite handy. If you have a particularly tricky DM you may want to check your potion supply. UncommonPotion of Resistance – Resistance is always nice, and if you find a potion that grants it you may need it soon. UncommonSovereign Glue – If you’ve ever had to go to the emergency room because you glued yourself to something you should have a good idea about the kinds of fun you can have with this. LegendarySpell Scroll ( v a r i e s ) – These are as useful as the spell on them and your character makes them.
Wizards might like them a bit more, but they may end up with a pile of useless paper if their arcana check goes poorly. Common, Common, Uncommon, Uncommon, Rare, Rare, Very Rare, Very Rare, Very Rare, LegendaryUniversal Solvent – For when you get into a sticky situation. How often does that happen to you anyway? LegendaryDust of Dryness – Honestly, besides fighting water elementals, I can’t think of a use for this item. UncommonPotion of Climbing – Now you can scale tall buildings at a very reasonable pace, and impress all your friends with your rock climbing prowess. CommonPotion of Water Breathing – This can be useful in a pinch, but it’s entirely dependent on how often your DM has you in the water. UncommonQuaal’s Feather Token – These tokens can be interesting, but none of the effects are particularly strong.
RareRobe of Useful Items – The homeless vagrant’s dream coat. You may be better off just buying the items rather than modifying your patchwork cloak. UncommonBag of Beans – This is really an item for the DM to create plot hooks. Characters who like to survive should avoid using this item. Let the DM think of ways to kill you without your help. RareDeck of Illusions – I just don’t see a use for this item when there are magical ways to actually summon creatures, not just illusions. You can only throw it 30 ft and it takes an action to use.
UncommonDust of Sneezing and Choking – This item is for DM’s who like to mess with their players. At first a PC thinks this item is Dust of Disappearance, but as soon as they employ it, they become incapacitated.
Unfortunately, there is not real way to figure out what the powder is. But if a crafty PC somehow could UncommonSouls of the Ageless: Sentient weapons Attunement ItemsThere are no items here that are less than sky blue or gold.Hazirawn (HotDQ) – Even if you aren’t attuned you get the +1, which is great for just about anyone. But if you are able to attune it, you get another d6 of damage dice and it becomes a +2 weapon. Not to mention free spells and the wounding property. Mandatory for evil great weapon masters. Legendary.As a side note about Hazirawn, I think there is a typo in the item description.
It says:“Even if you aren’t attuned to the sword, you gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls made with this weapon. If you are attuned to Hazirawn, you deal an extra 1d6 necrotic damage when you hit with the weapon.”Then it goes on the discuss the increased potency of having it attuned. Specifically:“ While you are attuned to this weapon, its bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls increases to +2, and a hit deals an extra 2d6 necrotic damage (instead of 1d6).”To me, this implies that WotC intended to have Hazirawn deal the extra 1d6 even while un-attuned.
Non Attunement Items. There are no items here that are less than sky blue or gold.Weapons Long-forgotten: Artifacts Attunement ItemsThere are no items here that are less than sky blue or gold. Non Attunement ItemsThere are no items here that are less than sky blue or gold.Gifts from the Gods: Boons Attunement ItemsNone. Yet Non Attunement ItemsBoon of Invincibility– About to die?
Try killing me again after I take a short rest. Oh waitBoon of Fate– Not only does this stack with advantage and the lucky feat, but it also recharges on a short rest. Not to mention, this helps with both your saving throws and hinders enemies saving throws.Boon of Resilience – Considering the majority of damage is from bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing, this boon is awesome.
Barbarians should start weeping in shame, as this is better than their core class feature.Boon of Truesight – Truesight is the best vision option available.Boon of High Magic – More wishes per day? Just yes.Boon of Magic Resistance – A souped-up Mantle of Spell Resistance sans attunement that protects you from dragon breath attacks. Sign me up.Boon of Recovery – A solid in-combat heal. This reminds me of the Epic destiny death save features from 4e.Boon of Spell Mastery – You know all those spell slots you had to burn on shield? Well not anymore.Boon of Spell Recall – This is pretty great.
How many times have you needed to cast a spell, but didn’t have prepared? And it doesn’t require a spell slot to boot.Boon of Combat Prowess – This is very solid, turn a miss into an auto hit. This combos nicely with the contagion spell. But realistically, you want to hit every time.Boon of Fortitude – hard to argue with 40 more hit points.Boon of Irresistible Offense- No longer will damage for fireball be resisted. This is also works well for underwater combat.Boon of Luck – This is essentially the warlock 6 class feature Dark One’s Own Luck, except this lets you add to attack rolls as well.Boon of Peerless Aim – As before, works well the the contagion spell.
Just don’t go shooting an apples off of peoples’ heads.Boon of Perfect Health – This can protect adventurers from whatever diseases they may catch by hanging out in so many seedy bars. Poison immunity and advantage on Con saves is nice as well.Boon of Quick Casting – This would be better if it negated the limitation on casting more than one spell per turn. But it does not.
Still though, you get to attack and cast a good spell as a bonus action.ahem bless.Boon of Skill Proficiency- This boon is for all the skill monkeys out there. Looking at you bardsBoon of Speed – As the legendary, fictional, professional, race car driver, Ricky Bobby, Once said– “I wanna go fast.” Amen brother. Not quite the mobility feat and not quite the rogue’s cunning action feature, this boon provides awesome movement coupled with the disengage option.Boon of Fire Soul – Fire resistance is fine, but again, I’d rather be able to cast more wishes instead of burning hands. At this level, with a DC 15 save, burning hands is hot garbage.Boon of the Stormborn – Similar to the boon of the fire soul. But marginally better, since it grants two resistances, and thunderwave is a slightly better spell.
I’m assuming that since the save is DC 15, and it says at-will, you must cast thuderwave as a level one spell and thus, you can’t upcast it. Which makes the boon a little worse.
Also, keep in mind that thunderwave is LOUD, so don’t spam it when you are trying to sneak around.Boon of Dimensional Travel – Free misty steps are nice, but honestly, at this level, second level spell slots are easily expendable. Really, if I’m getting a boon, I’d expect a little more bang for my buck.Boon of Planar Travel – You can’t even bring your party. It’s no fun traveling alone.
I guess this would be a hilarious FU for when that god-fight gets a little too hairy– “Peace guys. I’m gonna go get a beer.
Good luck.” It’s also important to note that it’s a one way ticket. So you better teleport to a hospitable place where its easy to get a short rest.Boon of the Night Spirit – All things considered, I’d prefer Greater Invisibility. But hey beggars can’t be choosers. Fortunately there is no time limit on the invisibility, so it’s not bad out of combat.Boon of Undetectability – As if stealthy characters didn’t have enough ways to become undetectable at this level. However, most villains have truesight, so stealth and invisibility doesn’t do much. Being hidden from scrying sounds nice, but it only protects you.
So unless the whole party has this boon, anyone who wants to find you could just look for your compadres.Boon of Immortality – Dying from old age is the least of an adventurer’s concerns.Boon of the Unfettered – maybe it’s just me, but I don’t get grappled that often. Not bad for RPing, when you get captured.Original Location: MasterNamer.